Nation & World News

46 charges for man accused in wild car-theft chase

The Associated Press

Posted:
07/30/2014 11:11:31 AM PDT

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A man accused of hijacking one car, stealing two others and trying to take more during a wild chase west of Denver has been charged with a list of felonies, including aggravated robbery and assault.

Prosecutors on Wednesday formally charged Christopher Sullivan, 37, in connection with the July 23 crime spree, which they say started when he and a 17-year-old girl fled a traffic stop. During the next two hours, the pair hijacked a car, stole a pickup truck and crashed through a closed garage door in a stolen SUV, police said. The chase that was captured on helicopter video ended when a deputy and a passer-by wrestled Sullivan to the ground on a highway.

Sullivan was advised of the charges during an appearance in Jefferson County court.

When deputies first tried to stop Sullivan in a white Crown Victoria, he told them he was an Arizona bail bondsman with "Bandit Bail Bonds" who was searching for someone in Colorado, according to newly released court documents. He then presented a phony Massachusetts commercial driver's license before speeding off, police said. Deputies could see the teenage girl shaking quietly in the passenger seat.

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Sullivan then ditched his car and hijacked a blue Subaru Outback on scenic Lookout Mountain, aiming a gun at the family inside, according to the court documents. Sullivan and the girl stole and crashed a white truck. Later, he exchanged gunfire with a deputy who saw them trying to take another vehicle at gunpoint. The girl ran and was taken into custody, but Sullivan continued, broke into a home and stole an SUV, driving it through the closed garage door, the documents say.